Oregon Gains 2,300 Jobs In April

Oregon's unemployment rate has dropped a full percentage point over the past year and now is down about three percentage po​ints since its peak during the Great Recession.

The State Employment Department said Tuesday the jobless rate was 8.5 percent in April. That's only a tenth of a percentage point lower than in the previous month - not statistically significant. The sluggish economic recovery has brought a number of similar monthly reports.

Officials say job growth in recent months has been about normal but not enough to make a significant dent in the number of unemployed people, about 169,000 in April.

Construction was prominent among economic sectors showing
strength in April after weakness in the previous two months. On a
seasonally adjusted basis, construction companies added 1.700 jobs.